Articles by Leigh Glenn

Before running for mayor of Annapolis, restaurateur Gavin Buckley ran in high heels and a skirt during a men-in-high-heels sprint at the 2015 Annapolis Fringe Festival. That was nothing out of the ordinary for the South African-born Buckley, who grew up in Perth, West Australia.

Ever since coming ashore in Annapolis in 1992, Buckley has been a proponent of all things local, the arts and West Street. He has exerted influence through his ownership and management of several restaurants, Tsunami, Lemongrass and Metropolitan among them. Some of what he’s done has stuck, as did his victory in redefining what’s permissible in Annapolis’ historic district. He cites his controversy with the city’s Historic Preservation Commission over the Agony and Ecstasy mural painted on the exterior of Tsunami as one reason he ran for mayor. Other things — a dog park near upper West Street — never took hold.

Buckley’s enthusiasm and vision are forces to be reckoned with. He wants to make Annapolis into an arts, gastronomic, historic and sailing destination. If he can maintain and expand support from the city’s 39,000 residents and thousands more who live outside the city’s 8.1 square miles, many of the ideas he favors could gain enough traction to change the face of the 10th oldest city in the United States.

Bay Weekly spoke to Buckley about three months into his first year as mayor. The interview that follows has been edited for length and clarity.

Bay WeeklyYou’ve often talked about the dynamic of drawing locals in and tourists following. How do you see that working?

Gavin BuckleyStarting from the top would be keeping the Sailing Hall of Fame here. We call ourselves the Sailing Capital of America, and if we’re not willing to put our money where our mouth is, we should take the sign down. Whether [the hall of fame is] housed in a boutique hotel or not, the sailing industry, the boating industry need to feel supported by the administration.

A City Dock boutique hotel is an idea I’m putting forth. Called The Maritime, maybe it could be four stories, maybe it could have a rooftop that looks over Spa Creek, some conference rooms or meeting space above the Sailing Hall of Fame.

Bay WeeklyHow does that vision extend beyond the boating industry to people who live here?

Gavin BuckleyThe main thing I want to focus on is the plaza that we create, called Lafayette Square, and how we program that plaza. It would still have to be hardscape that you could fit the Boat Show in, that you could pull a tour bus up to to drop people off and then pull out again. But it should be mainly for pedestrians, and there should be things for pedestrians to do. We’ve taken the team down to the wharf in D.C. to see how they’ve programmed a pretty much blighted waterfront area and turned it around.

We’re bringing in Fred Kent, a famous place-making guy that was here seven years ago to do another presentation. The next day, we’re going to bring him back, put a big tent at City Dock and have a workshop that anyone will be invited to. That workshop can be about how we feel our public space here wants to look, so it’s organic, it comes from the people who live here. It comes from the locals … And you’re a local if you live in Arnold or Crownsville or Edgewater … it’s still your downtown, so getting people invested in it and committed to it, that’s our goal.

Going up Main Street, we envision a bike path and a trolley line coming down one side of Main Street. We envision expanding the sidewalk and creating outdoor cafes coming down — on the right-hand side — from the Treaty of Paris all the way to Acme and Chick & Ruths.

Bay WeeklyCity Dock is vulnerable to sea level rise. What measures are you planning to counter rising waters and the issues that come with them?

Gavin BuckleyThe historic district and the water are two of our greatest assets, but the water is also our greatest threat. We have to be mindful of that or we won’t have a historic district.

We’re talking about a nine-foot increase. We have to prepare for that. We will appoint a resiliency officer or director who will focus on how we do that. How we’re going to deal with it is to identify the city’s assets, cultural and physical, and the city’s needs and prepare for the next 50 years. Then we’re going to come up with plans that involve the private sector.

Bay WeeklyHave you gotten to the hows?

Gavin BuckleyWe should incentivize an international contest. You look at what they’ve done in the Netherlands and in countries that have had to stop big masses of water. If we put a big idea out there and included the county in the plan, we could do things that involve dikes or things like that that could save massive communities that sit on the Severn River or Spa Creek.

Take the boutique hotel idea. If we put the parking underground, and we put the last level of parking six, eight, 10 feet above grade, that could be the creation of a sea wall for the historic district, if we decide to go that route.

Using the private sector will be a big thing for us and bundling, coming up with ideas that are blessed by the city, maybe some even pre-permitted by the city, and taking them to the private sector so that we get civic investment is the goal.

Bay WeeklyIn terms of mitigating climate change, you say you’d like fewer vehicles. How will you move people around?

Gavin BuckleyThe trolleys — we’d like them to be electric. We would like to audit all the city buildings for efficiencies and try to operate those in terms of that. Getting people out of cars and making it a much more walkable city. We like the Danish model. We like it that half their country goes to work on a bike. So if you make bike paths safe, it’s a consideration. We’ve got two bike bridges planned and pretty neat bike paths that go from the historic district down to the mall and from the Poplar Trail to the B&A Trail, from the library over to Quiet Waters Park. We’ve got a lot of ideas like that that can move people around without burning fossil fuel.

Bay WeeklyHow would the city work with the county to do some of these things?

Gavin BuckleyAnne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh has a ­dedicated bike specialist on staff. He’s been talking about bringing the B&A Trail to the stadium. I have to intersect that with a bike path across College Creek that intersects it from the downtown area. We have to work together — use Open Space money to fund certain things.

Bay WeeklyHow do you foresee integrating green technologies into areas managed by the Historic Preservation Commission? Will that require changes to ordinances?

Gavin BuckleyWe have to consider substitute materials. We have to consider whether the environment trumps preservation in some things. I’m hoping to appoint somebody with that kind of experience on the historic preservation board soon. Then maybe somebody with a building background, too, who understands changes from that angle.

Bay WeeklyHow do you propose integrating more of the city’s history into everyday spaces to develop a greater sense of community?

Gavin BuckleyThe Market House is going to be a central area for everybody in the town, whatever race, rich or poor, I think it’s going to be a town center again.

We need to do events that are inclusive. We’ve done that on West Street, and we should do that downtown as well. Kids in marginalized communities should get to see role models who’ve come out of this town and done great things, and know what a rich history we have. We have a mural coming up, Daniel Hale Williams coming to West Street, near Asbury United Methodist Church. He wasn’t just the first African American, but the first person to do successful heart surgery. Another mural we’re trying to do is Thurgood Marshall next to the courthouse. And another is [local DJ] Hoppy Adams; Chick & Ruths is another wall where we can do that. So just some inspirational characters who’ve come out of here.

Bay WeeklyYou’ve mentioned wanting to create a no-discharge zone all around Annapolis.

Gavin BuckleyWe’re formulating it with the county because they’re on the same page. I want people to realize that we care about the water. This is a good place to swim. I get frustrated when people say, I’m not swimming there. I’m not eating anything from there. Cities and countries all over the planet with waters all around industrial towns bring them back to pristine condition. We should be fighting for that, too. With Steve Schuh, we’re working on legalities and how we craft it. I know it’s going to affect some boating businesses, but I think we’ll gain more than we’ll lose.

Bay WeeklyThrough what specific ways do you intend to bring people together?

Gavin BuckleyWe all need to get to know each other a lot better. My staff are diverse. We are inclusive — age-inclusive, race-inclusive, sexual preference-inclusive. It’s about leadership and how you conduct yourself. Events are diverse. We just did a big plaque at City Hall that celebrates all the elected African American officials in city government; the first-ever elected African American in the state of Maryland was a city councilor. Next we’re going to do another plaque next to that for all the women that have been voted to city council — and just start to draw attention to the fact that other people have worked much harder to get there as opposed to us old white guys. I get mad at old white guys, then I realize I am one. (Laughs.)

Bay WeeklyWhich cities do you look toward for the things you would like to do?

Gavin BuckleyThe Austins, the Boulders, the Charlestons, the Burlingtons, the Ashevilles. Even locally, Frederick’s done well the last couple of decades. I read up on different mayors and best practices. If I see a good idea, I bring it to our team and see what they think.

Bay WeeklySpeaking of ideas …

Gavin BuckleyWe love ideas. Just because we put an idea out there doesn’t mean it’s going to happen; it’s the start of a conversation. I defi­nitely don’t surround myself with people that just think the same way I do. I need other people’s perspectives. If the majority of people don’t like something, we don’t do it. But I think we have a lot of untapped potential and need to try things.

Bay WeeklyWhat’s the best way for people to reach you?

Gavin Buckley[email protected] We go through the emails every couple of days, or if there’s a meeting needed, set them up.

Find Lothian-grown pumpkins from around the world at Riva Farmers Market

Your search for the perfect pumpkin may end at the Anne Arundel County Farmers Market, where Ray and Sonja Wood of Lothian, with grandson Brandon Myers, offer a bumper crop of heritage pumpkins from around the world.
Some are huge: not pumpkin-catapulting huge, but pumpkin-carving-contest-worthy. As Jack-o’-lanterns or on uncarved display, they’re great.
Decoration was the couple’s original pumpkin plan.
Ray, who grew up on a dairy farm, took up pumpkin-growing about 15 years ago to ease into retirement after a career as an electronics engineer. “It keeps us active, but it doesn’t pay much,” he says from the tailgate of one of the two pickup trucks he uses to haul the pumpkins to market usually starting in late September.
But customers wanted pumpkins they could eat, too. Specific pumpkins. One wanted a Long Island Cheese pumpkin. Others followed with requests for pumpkins they’d grown up with. That launched the Woods into growing heritage pumpkins from all over the world, including France, Thailand, Italy and Australia.
The Woods also grow gourds, which are purely decorative.
Every year, they harvest about three acres of winter squash and pumpkins, including the green and orange Fairy Tale, Blue Hubbard, long and appropriately named Pink Banana, and one of Sonja Wood’s favorites, Galeaux d’Eysines, a warty French pumpkin that’s good in pies, soups and pumpkin bread.
All pumpkins are, technically, squashes, but there are differences. Winter squashes tend to have a stronger taste and hold their shape better, Sonja says. Pumpkins, which tend to be milder, don’t retain their shape as well. Some, like Pink Banana, offer both ­qualities.
The tough skins of winter squash and pumpkins help to preserve them through winter. Their mild flavor means they can be used in a variety of ways: soups, stews, breads and pies, or cubed and baked with a little butter, maple syrup and balsamic for a side dish.
Food historian and heritage grower William Woys Weaver says that the darker orange flesh around the seeds is the tastiest part of the pumpkin.
“There’s nothing here I don’t eat,” Ray Wood says. “My wife finds some easier to prepare than others.”
Washed, dried and kept in an unlighted, cool (50-degree) area, pumpkins and winter squash will last for months. Cooked pumpkin, roasted or steamed, can be peeled, cooled and frozen for later use.
Seeds are also edible. Roast washed, seasoned seeds for a snack. Or save the seeds and try to grow your own. Cucurbits cross readily, so you might be surprised by what develops; allow plenty of space for these vining plants.
Find your perfect pumpkin at the market through October 25.

It’s a Friday afternoon and opening night for Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s Aladdin is just a week away. Artistic Director Dianna Cuatto is working the company, Maryland’s sole professional ballet, on Act II and tweaking little things — the kinds of gestures, head positions and facial expressions — that will make the performance sing.

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